Pentagon Shifts Control of News Clipping Service

The Pentagon said today it is changing the management of its news clipping service, read by top Administration officials in Washington and overseas, because of critical news stories it failed to print.

“If (Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci) and I have had any unhappiness, it’s not with what they print. It’s occasionally with what hasn’t been printed,” said Pentagon spokesman Dan Howard.

Taking Over Management

Howard said his office will be taking over management of the Current News service from the office of Air Force Secretary Edward Aldridge, which has been running the service for many years.

The Current News is an influential, 18-page daily compilation of defense-related stories in the major newspapers, wire services and television networks that is read throughout Congress, the executive branch, the media and academia.

More than 7,000 copies are printed daily, of which more than 2,000 are sent outside the Pentagon.

Helps Senior Managers

“I feel that senior managers in the building have to depend upon the clipping service to tell them what the stories are. And, that certainly includes the bad stories, the ones that we have to respond to. . . . You have to have the stories prominently displayed,” Howard said.

Howard said he views the service as “a management tool” to help Pentagon senior managers do their job.

“I realize that there are a lot of other people . . . who read the Current News, but we have to understand what the tool is about,” the spokesman said.

No changes in the Current News format or personnel are planned, he said.